Nightstar VS Sparrow
by Lou Buggins
Summary: Being a teenager is never easy, but to be a teenage superhero/legacy is anything but easy. Follow Nightstar, Sparrow, and their family/friends in a story about friendship, family, and the hardships of growing up as a Teen Titan. Third Genre: Hurt/Comfort First story! No Flames! Pairings: BBRae, RobStar, CyBee
1. Chapter 1

Nightstar VS Sparrow

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or their characters. Also, most names I have used in this story come from other Fanfiction stories that I have accepted as fandom. I would be happy to give credit to the original creator(s) of any names used. The story plot, however, is my original idea.

Author's Note: Please know that this is my first official story. Please no flames. I am happy to hear any constructive criticism. Forgive me if there are any mechanical errors, such as, grammar and spelling. If you do find any, please let me know so that I can fix it immediately. Thank you and enjoy the story!

Chapter 1

Sparrow's POV:

Sleeping in is far easier now that I don't have my goodie-two-shoes twin brother waking me up at the crack of dawn. With a stretch and a yawn I sat up in bed and did a mental scan of my new bedroom. Although it's not just my room, never has been. I now share my room with my best friend, Stinger. Our room is split in half by a large walk-in closet that we both share. My half is painted green, with posters of my favorite animals and pictures of my friends and family taped to the wall. Next to my twin size bed is a small night stand with a bedside lamp. At the end of my bed is a large chest that holds all of my personal items, like books, a fancy hand mirror my mom gave me when I turned ten, and some other random things. Across from me in the far right corner of my room is my very own scratching post. It was a birthday present from my parents last year.

The sweet silence was suddenly broken by the sound of a loud snore coming from the other side of the room. "Guess Stinger stayed up late last night... again. Nightstar isn't going to be happy if she ends up missing training... again." So I slid out of bed, and made my way over to her half of the room. Her half was like mine, except her walls were yellow and instead of a chest and scratch post, she has a large desk covered with technology stuff. I reach out and start to shake her awake. "Stinger... Stinger... STINGER!" I started screaming.

"DON'T TOUCH THAT!" Stinger jumped and shouted at the same.

"Oww! Stinger, what the heck! Animal hearing, remember?" I said while holding my ears.

"Sorry girl, but you were the one yelling first." Stated Stinger.

"Well sorry, but it got you up, didn't it?" Stinger yawned then she started to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

"Ugh, what time is it, anyway?"

"I don't know, let me check." I went back to my half of the room and picked up my communicator and checked the time. "7:00 a.m., Stinger!"

"Seven in the morning! Why would you wake me up so early? You know I stayed up late working on my teleporter!"

I ignored the last part, because my eyes caught the fine print under the digital clock. "Parent's visit" echoed in my mind until it finally clicked. "Oh crap." I whispered.

"Sparrow, what was that?"

"I think I know I woke us up so early."

"And that is?"

"Ours parents are coming." I looked to see Stinger's reaction and sure enough, it matched mine. We both went pail. After what seemed like eternity, we rushed to get ready for the arrival of not just our parents, but our mentors, the original Titans.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Nightstar's POV:

After my early morning training session with my brother Darkstar, I started making my morning rounds. I fly around the tower each day to make sure everything is as it should be. Plus I usually have to wake up the lazy members of my team. Today I had to be extra vigilant, because of the arrival of the mighty Titans, or as I like to call them, our parents. Although, out of all of them I'm more worried about my dad, Nightwing. Getting him to admit I'm doing a good job, and to see that I'm not a little girl anymore is about as hard as getting anyone (but Changeling) to get Raven to smile. My mom, on the other hand, thinks EVERYTHING I do is perfect. The only thing similar about my parents is that both see me as a five-year-old girl, instead of being a seventeen-year-old teenager.

Once I got to the sleeping quarters I went into every bedroom for a quick inspection. First is my room, and having cleaned it already this morning, all I had to do was double check that everything was perfect. I guess one could call me OCD, but I get it honestly. Next is Darkstar's room. He told me he took care of it this morning, but I know my brother enough to know that his clean is NOT my clean. Normally I would knock first, but since I already know that he's in the kitchen eating breakfast and not in his room, I just let myself in. As predicted his trash bin by his desk was over flowing with trash and his bed was poorly made. *Sign* "Well at least he put some effort, unlike some people I know." I muttered as I quickly made some finishing touches to his room and once I was satisfied I continued down the hall to Stinger's and now Sparrow's room. Even through the closed door I could hear them running around in there trying (and probably failing) to make their room and themselves presentable. Hesitantly, I knock on their door. The room went dead silent. After a minute went by I tried to knock again when suddenly the door slid open to reveal two, shockingly, very clean teen girls.

Sparrow had her purple hair in a ponytail with a hair band on top of her head. The hair band was green with a bird sticking out of it. The rest of her outfit was her normal uniform which was much like her dad's old uniform. Stinger had her hair up too, but in a braid. The rest of her was dressed exactly like her mom's uniform. She also had a special bracelet that she and her dad designed together. It does lots of useful things for her, but I don't know all the details. Though I'm sure if I asked she would spend the whole day trying to explain it to me. She could talk all day about either technology or insects. Never of which interest me.

"Howdy Boss! Can we help you?" Asked Sparrow. Always the sarcastic jokester.

"Hey guys! Just going around the tower to do a thorough inspection on all the rooms. Gotta get everything ready before our important guests arrive." Stinger nodes knowingly while Sparrow just rolls her eyes. She always has something to say and it usually contradicts me.

"You know Boss, you're our leader, not our babysitter. We don't need you to tell us how to clean OUR room!" She said while gesturing towards Stinger.

"Well sometimes you guys make me feel like both! With the way you two slack off all the time I'm surprised you guys even remembered they were coming today!" Seeing both their faces go pail made me realize that they did in fact forget. I rolled my eyes at their reaction and then asked if I could come in. Reluctantly, they agreed and I was greeted with yet another non-perfect mess. This one though, lacked any effort. Clothes, books, and who knows what else were scattered all over the room. If I'm not a babysitter than I'm a maid. I started to get to work cleaning up the room, when I was suddenly interrupted by a gloved hand grabbing my shoulder and spinning me around so that I faced the hands owner. "Ahh! Sparrow! What are you doing?" I shouted.

"I should be asking you that!"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm helping you guys clean up this mess before one of our parents sees it and kills us!"

"First of all, it's our room," Sparrow again gestured to Stinger and herself, "not yours. And second, it's no one's business on how our room looks. It's our room, not yours, and definitely not our parents. We are old enough to keep our room however we like it. And I would be happy to tell any of our parents the same thing." Sparrow ended her rant with her arms crossed and a confident smirk.

"Fine, whatever. Do what you want. I'm too busy to argue today. But if any of your mess steps foot out of this room-

"It won't." Interrupted Sparrow. I sent her a glare and pointed at her, which she returned with a glare of her own.

"It better not." And with that I left the room and hurried to the last bedroom to check.

When I approached the door I immediately froze. A shiver went down my back as I felt the temperature dropping from being so far away from the heater. The teammate that lived here preferred being as far away as possible from the main room. I held myself as another shiver was sent through me. "How can he stand being so cold?" I mumbled to myself. Suddenly the door slid open and a monotone voice followed. "My blood is naturally warmer than most. Plus I can always morph into a winter animal if it gets cold enough." In front of me stood the owner of that voice.

"How did you..."

"Animal hearing, remember?" He replied while wiggling his pointed ears. Both his sister and himself look like their dad except for the purple hair and eyes. Sparrow has her mother's body shape, but other than that you can definitely tell these two were Changeling's twins. The boy standing in front of me was Crow. He wore a similar suit to his sister's, but he also sported a dark green cloak that resembled is mother's.

"Oh, right. Well, all knowing one, care to let me in for a moment?"

"That depends. Care to tell me why you are in such a foul mood?"

"Ugh! Can I at least come in first?"

Crow smiled and step away, inviting me into his room. Although, he was more like his mother than Sparrow, he still had his fathers' good-natured spirit. Crow's room was lit up by the morning sun that came through a medium sized window. He still had his twin size bed from when he shared his room with his twin sister. It occupied the far left corner of the room. The whole room was painted a forest green, but only the left side had pictures of family and friends taped to the wall much like Sparrow's half of her new room. On the right side of Crow's room was another twin sized bed, but it was normally stripped bare. It's been a year now since the twins finally separated, but it seemed that Crow was still prepared for her to move back in whenever she felt like it. Though part of me pitied him for being so alone, I also felt admiration for him being such a kind and loving brother. I looked back at the now move-in ready extra bed and I couldn't help, but ask why he had made another bed.

"Oh, that's just for one of my sisters when the family gets here. You know one of them will be sleeping here since they obviously can't share a room." Crow explained. I just nodded in understanding. Crow and Sparrow have a younger sister named Arella. She's only 6 and tends to get on Sparrow's bad side. And everyone knows that both sisters share their mother's temper. So the two sisters sharing a room was not a possibility. Only Crow would think so far ahead.

"So you're in here, now tell me what's bothering you."

*Sigh* "Well you know how things are when our parents visit." Crow just nodded his head, waiting for me to continue. "Everything has to be perfect or they'll spend the week complaining again. About how we're either too young or too immature to be on our own for so long." Crow nodded his head again and looked to be in deep thought. "So I just want this visit to go smoothly and your irrational, arrogant sister always has to mess things up somehow, someway!" That seemed to snap him back to reality.

"I think I get what's going on now." Crow started. "You're worried about what our parents will think when they see Sparrow's lack of cleaning habits. But I think you're more worried about getting your dad's approval. And so you are trying to do the impossible, by making everything perfect by you and your dad's standards." As always Crow is able to read me like a book. He gets that from his mom or so I'm told. I simply bow my head in shame as I await his inedible advice. Yet he just smiles at me, a small yet filled with care kind of smile, which only he could give.

"Well?" I questioned.

"Oh you want my advice?" His smile turned to a fake surprised look and his eyes started to show amusement.

"Ha...Ha... very funny, but can I please have at least one other serious person on this team, besides myself?"

"Haha... ok as you wish oh serious leader!" He taunted. Earning him one of my famous eye rolls. "My advice is... don't worry. Sparrow is Sparrow, if you tell her to do anything she'll refuse. You have to make her think it was her idea. And as far as keeping her room clean, trust me she would never be dumb enough to let mother see her room the way she normally has it. Stop trying so hard to strive for an impossible goal. You're a great leader and from the way the reports look, you're just about as great as Nightwing was when he was still Robin. At the very least that's what it looks like on paper. Just enjoy seeing our families for a change. After all this whole week is about us and your amazing leadership." Crow was referring to the whole reason for our parents visit. This week marks my teams two year anniversary and my dad is going to be throwing a big Titan party in my teams honor. And I'm supposed to just sit back and relax. This time I mentally roll my eyes.

"Thanks Crow. I'll keep the whole Sparrow thing in mind. And I promise to at least try and relax."

"That's all we could ever ask of you. And by we I mean the team and I." I just nodded my head and left the room at that. I started flying towards the kitchen to see what my brother has cooked for breakfast. I checked my communicator for the time. 8:00 a.m. Our parents will be here in two hours. Just glorious!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Sparrow's POV:

As soon as the door was shut, I made my way over to my bed to start cleaning.  
"What happened to not caring about what others think about our room?" Stinger questioned, a smirk plastered on her face.  
"Ugh, well as much as I hate to admit it Nightstar is...is right." The word tasted sour coming out of my mouth. Although, I respect Nightstar as a person, she will never really be my leader. We think way too differently and besides always disagreeing, I really don't need a leader. I'm my own leader, my own alpha. Only Crow and my dad know this. If word got out, I could lose my position on the team. Plus, I don't see my feelings being shared by anyone else, not even Stinger. "I wasn't going to let her push us around, but this room looks like a tornado blew through. If either of our mom's sees this mess..." I didn't need to finish the last part. We both shuddered at the memory of last time our mothers saw our rooms this dirty.  
"I guess you're right, but why did you have to make such a big fuss at Nightstar? She was only trying to help." Stinger stated as she too started cleaning her half of the room.  
"Because she wasn't helping, she was controlling. There's a big difference."  
"But isn't her job as leader to control us?"  
"No!" I growled. "A good leader guides, a bad leader controls." There was long pause after that. We continued cleaning until Stinger finally broke the silence.  
"So you think Nightstar is a bad leader?" Oh crap, I thought.  
"She's not a bad leader; she just needs to know when enough is enough."  
"Sounds like someone else I know." Stinger mumbled as she went back to cleaning her half of the room. I just rolled my eyes and continued cleaning while deep in thought.  
"Man that was close! I need to be more careful about what I say." I told myself.  
"But she's are best friend, we can trust her!" Happy (one of my many emonticlones) said.  
"Did you see the look on her face? A secret is a secret for a reason." Knowledge pointed out.  
"I say we just come out with it! Challenge Nightstar already and we wouldn't have to worry about holding back our true feelings. We're an Alpha, darn it!" Brave growled.  
"We can't simply give in to our animal urges. We're a human, a hero! Not an animal." Replied Wisdom.  
"Technically we are both." Stated Knowledge. I mentally rolled my eyes and finished cleaning the room. Once Stinger and I were satisfied we made our way to the main room. The main room is where the living room and kitchen are. As we approached the main room I could already smell the freshly made waffles. Upon entering I saw Nightstar and Darkstar already digging in. Darkstar looked up from his plate and sent us a grin. "Hey girls! Breakfast is on the counter. Complements of yours truly." Darkstar joked while gesturing from the food on the counter to himself. I sent him a large grin and ran over to the counter. I started brewing my favorite flavor tea, and then piled some waffles onto a plate. With my cup of tea in one hand and my plate of waffles in the other I made my way over to my spot at the table, which is in between Darkstar and, when he's here, my brother. Stinger followed me to the table and sat in her usual spot across from me and next to Nightstar, who was sitting next to her brother. The only one of us missing, as usual, was my brother. "Hey Darkstar what time is it?" I asked. Darkstar pulled out his communicator and replied, "8:10. He's ten minutes late." Darkstar always seemed to read my mind. As if on cue, Crow walked in, book in hand.  
"Hey there bro! Darkstar made our favorite, waffles!" I shouted towards him, sending him a friendly smile. He returned the smile and thanked me. The team and I made some small talk while Crow made his breakfast, waffles and tea. Once he sat down next to Stinger and me, Nightstar made an announcement. "So now that the team is all here I just wanted to remind you all that our parents should be here in about less than two hours. So after breakfast we will take a five minute break to clean the kitchen and then we will reconvene in the gym for training." A set of loud groans followed her announcement. "Of course!" I thought to myself. "Our parents come for a visit and all she wants to do is train.  
"Leave her alone Marie. She only wants to impress our parents." A monotone voice replied back to me in my head.  
"Get out of my head Mark!" I mentally scolded. Being magical twins gives us the power to communicate telepathically. We can only use this power with those we share blood and magic with. So those only leave us, our mother, and are kid sister. I guess my scolding didn't work because Mark (Crow's real name) kept on going.  
"I'm only trying to calm you down. Have you meditated yet?"  
"No mom, I haven't meditated yet. I've been kind of busy following drama queen's orders."  
"Ahh, so you did clean your room after all."  
"How did you-"  
"Nightstar told me."  
"Great! Now she has you on her side too!"  
"I'm not taking sides. I'm only looking out for everyone's best interest."  
"Whatever, mom."  
"Call me mom all you want. It doesn't bother me when you compare me to one of the most powerful Titans of all time." I mentally roll my eyes at that one.

"Wow! Who knew you were such a big Raven fan?" I reply sarcastically.  
"Maybe after breakfast you should spend some time meditating. I'm sure Nightstar will let you if you ask nicely."  
"I don't need to ask anyone if and when I can do stuff. And besides, I don't need to meditate every day. I'm fine."  
"Don't lie to me. We both know what you're really feeling. I can taste the primal anger coming from you."  
"Nothing a little training can't help."  
"Whatever you say, but when mom and dad get here they'll be all over you. Don't say I didn't warn ya."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Nightstar POV:

As my team gathered in the gym, I wasted no time putting them to work. "Alright team, let's do some sparring! Stinger and Sparrow you'll duke it out on the right side, Crow and Darkstar the left. As always I'll spar with the overall winner." As my teammates moved to their respective places and I flew around to observe each fight. Both sides were close and evenly matched. In the end it was Sparrow against Darkstar. It was always fun to watch these two spar. Everyone knew these two had a thing for each other. Well, everyone but them. Both Sparrow and Darkstar hate losing, but their feelings for each other cause them to hold back when faced against each other. It's somewhat amusing to see them struggle with their need to when and their need to please. With them it's never about who is a better fighter, it's about who is willing to lose.

They went to the center mat, where they positioned themselves in a fight stance. Their eyes were locked in an intense staring contest. I shouted "go!" and watched the battle begin. Sparrow, as usual, attacked first. She took the form of a tigress (class sheathed of course) and pounced on top of Darkstar, pinning him to the mat. Darkstar used his alien strength to throw her off. Sparrow shifted back to her human form, while Darkstar flew up and then towards her. He knew she would return to her human form, which made her an easy target. Sparrow seemed to anticipate his move and at the last second morphed into a hummingbird and dogged his attack. Darkstar landed on the mat head first and let out a grunt as he lifted himself off the mat. Sparrow immediately dived down and stabbed him on his butt with her pointed hummingbird beak. Darkstar jumped and let out a whelp.

"Oww! Sparrow what the heck?!" Darkstar shouted. Sparrow darted back to her side of the mat and morphed back into her human form. She held herself from laughing so hard.

"Hahaha! You should see your face! I totally got you!" Sparrow laughed. Darkstar rolled his eyes, but wore a smug look.

"Whatever, I know you were just so tempted to feel my nicely toned butt that you couldn't help yourself. It's ok, Sparrow, I don't blame you." Darkstar said sarcastically, still looking smug. Sparrow started blushing profoundly and I could tell that she was caught off guard by my brother's confident response. He saw it too and charged at her. She didn't understand what was happening, until she was pinned down by her appoint. I could see Darkstar smiling at her. He leaned down by her ear and whispered something. By the blush on their faces I could tell it was another suggestive comment.

"Always playing dirty, brother." I thought. I shook my head and prepared to call the fight to an end when Sparrow's eyes suddenly started glowing black. Not a good sign. Next thing I know, Darkstar is trying to fly away, but Sparrow sent out a burst of dark magic that engulfed my brother and slammed him back now on that mat. Sparrow then pounced on him, pinning him down in the same way he had her just moments before.

"I win!" Growled Sparrow.

"O...ok, Sparrow. You win!" Darkstar stuttered, obviously scared. I couldn't see Sparrow's face, but from the reaction she was getting out of my brother, it had to be bad.

"Ok Sparrow, that's enough! Let him go!" I called, signaling the end of the fight. Sparrow hesitated for a moment before jumping off of him. She had a look of horror, like she had just seen a ghost. "Sparrow, it's ok. You won fair and square." I tried to comfort her, but she just looked away from me and made her way towards Crow and Stinger, who were standing on the sidelines with me during the fight. Stinger was grinning proudly, oblivious to everyone else's concern. Sparrow just ignored her and went to stand by Crow. Crow was staring at her, obviously the most concerned. From the way they were acting, I would guess that they were having a mental chat. It bothered me to no end when they did that. It kept me in the dark, and despite my name, I didn't appreciate it. I helped Darkstar up and I could tell he was still a bit shaken up. "You ok?" I asked.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just wasn't expecting that. But really, I'm ok." He said that last part more towards Sparrow than me. His voice was filled with worry. Sparrow simply nodded back to him and he made his way over her.

"I'm really, really sorry Darkstar. I...I didn't mean to scare you." Sparrow apologized. Darkstar sent her a sweet smile, filled with love that honestly made me sick to see.

"Really, it's alright." He spoke softly and then added in a joking fashion. "And for the record, I was NOT scared." That seemed to boost Sparrow's spirit.

"Ha! Yeah right! I totally creamed your sorry butt!"

"Lucky shot!"

"Want me to try again?" Sparrow challenged, eyes glowing black again, but this time in a playful manor. Darkstar threw his hands in the air in defeat.

"Sparrow! You and me! Let's go!" I shouted once the tension went down. Again, Sparrow hesitated before replacing her nervous look with a determined one.

"Coming Boss!" Came Sparrow replied as she made her way back to the mat.

"Hang on Sparrow!" Crow interrupted causing Sparrow to stop and glare at him while the rest of us sent him confused stares.

"What is it Crow?" I questioned.

"Well, it's just that, I think it's best if Sparrow and I did some meditation before our parents arrive." Crow said nervously. I was about to reply, but Sparrow beat me to it.

"I'm fine, Crow! I got this."

"But Sparrow, you haven't meditated all week. You'll lose control if you don't meditate."

"I'm fine Crow! Just leave me alone!" There was a pause, continued with a surprising statement. "I WILL fight, and I WILL win!"

"You see?! It's that kind of thinking that just proves me right! If you would just do as you're supposed to and meditate every morning, you wouldn't need me to force you to do so during a training session!" Both twins were now in each other's faces and sending each other Raven style glares. Even though Crow was more passive than his outgoing sister, they were both equally stubborn.

"Alright that's enough!" I budded in. "Crow, as always, I appreciate you looking out for your fellow teammates, but if Sparrow says she can, and wants, to continue with training than I will allow it." Crow tried to say something, but I cut him off. "That's my final decision. End of discussion!" I declared. Crow looked deflated, but obeyed and Sparrow continued to journey towards the mat.

I was already in my fighting stance when she finally made it over. Once she was ready, Darkstar called out "Go!" I attacked first by lounging at her, sending her blows with a combination of fists and kicks. She managed to dodge most of my blows, but didn't offer any in return. Instead, she stayed on the defense. Only blocking or avoiding my shots. Finally, I got tired of waiting, and I flew up enough so I could fire some star bolts around her. Purposely missing only by a hair, so I would get a reaction out of her. It worked. She shifted into a golden eagle and shot up towards me. I was prepared, though, and so I quickly flew out of her path. We chased each other for a few minutes, both of us in the air with me shooting star bolts every now and then. Eventually, one of my star bolts hit her and she started falling towards the mat. I reacted quickly and was able to catch her still bird-shape body before she landed on the mat. I laid her on the ground and she morphed back into her human form.

"Sparrow, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that." I apologized.

Sparrow didn't respond. She was holding her head and shaking. She started mumbling something unintelligent. "Sparrow?" I asked cautiously while slowly approaching her. "Is everything alright?"

Suddenly, she stopped shaking and mumbling. Then she lifted up her head to reveal wolf-like eyes and a snarl.

"Nightstar, RUN!" I heard Crow yell, but it was too late. Sparrow lounged at me and as quick as lightning she had me pinned down. She started growling at me and I could see all of her teeth, suddenly razor sharp. I panicked and shot a star bolt at her, which blew her off me. I jumped up and took to the sky, my eyes now glowing green, ready to strike. Her eyes turned a blood-red color and she shot out a fist of dark magic. It hit me hard and sent me flying into a wall. She was about to come after me, when dark magic surrounded her holding her in place. I looked around for the obvious choice to thank, but when my eyes landed on Crow, he only shook his head and pointed to the gym doors. There stood a very angry Raven, her eyes and hands still glowing with dark magic, a very worried Changeling, and a very scared little girl clinging to her mother's cloak. "Great," I thought, "dad is sure to hear about this."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Nightstar's POV:

"Everyone needs to leave the gym. Now!" Growled Changeling. Without question, Stinger and Darkstar raced out of the gym. Crow followed them after collecting his younger sister, leaving the rest of the Logan's and myself. I followed after my team, but stopped at the door. I turned to Changeling and asked, "Are you sure I can't stay? She's my teammate and I think this was partially my fault. I accidentally hit her with one of my star bolts. And I was the one that let her spar in the first place." I looked down my feet, unashamed of my mistakes. Changeling's face softened, but his voice was still filled with authority.  
"No Mar'i. This wasn't your fault. Marie is old enough to know better. Go with the rest of your team and wait in the main room. We'll be there soon."  
I didn't dare to argue any further. I flew out of the gym doors and went to find my team in the main room. There's only a handful of people that I let have authority over me, two of them were back in the gym.

Sparrow POV:

As quick as it came the dark magic left. I spun around to find its source. My eyes landed on my parents and our eyes locked. My mother's eyes started to glow white and she slowly approached me. Our eyes never broke the stare, but my mother kept coming at me, slow and steady. When she was close enough to touch me, she extended her hand out and very carefully touched my head. I instantly felt her calm, healing aura wash over me. My eyes shut and a fell to my knees, taking my mother with me. She held me in her arms as tears pushed their way out my, now normal, eyes and down my face. Mother put one hand on my head and the other wrapped tighter around my shaking body. My head was resting on her shoulder and my breathing started to hitch. My instincts sensed my dad moving toward us and I looked up to see his worried face looking back at me. I moved away from Mom and stood up, still facing my dad. I was still shaking, so I held myself as I walked around Mom and right into my father's embrace. Mom always said that she felt safest in my dad's arms and I did too. Dad was our family's safe haven. He could be furious with one of us, but still offer his life-saving hugs. After a moment I stopped crying and returned his hug. I wanted to stay like that forever, but my dad gently pushed me back so that I was standing in front of him. From the look on his face I could tell our little moment was over.  
"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Honey, but I'm also very disappointed in you for letting it happen." Dad said with a serious tone.  
"Yes Marie, we are both very disappointed. Tell us, when was the last time you meditated?" Mom spoke for the first time. I could tell she too was fighting back her rage.  
"I...I...um...Monday?" I stuttered.  
"Monday! It's Sunday! You're telling me you haven't meditated for a week?!" Mom yelled.  
"Well...um...yeah." I replied sheepishly, looking down at my feet. Mom started pinching the bridge of her nose with her right hand, her left arm wrapped around herself. Dad took this a sign to intervene.  
"Go to your room, Marie. We all need to take a breather right now."  
"And you better be either meditating or sleeping when we come for you." Mom sternly added.  
I nodded my head and replied, "Yes ma'am," before using my powers to teleport back to my room. I collapsed on my bed and let out a huge sigh. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the rare silence. Rage taking over took a lot out of me, but I knew what I needed most was meditation. I crawled on my bed and sat crisscross. With a deep breath, I shut my eyes and cleared my mind. "Azerath, Mentrion, Zinthos." "Azerath, Mentrion, Zinthos."

Nightstar's POV:

"This is entirely my fault! I should have listened to you Crow. Heck, I should have known on my own that something was up with Sparrow! What kind of leader am I if I can't even tell when someone on my team is going crazy?" I ranted while pacing the living room floor in front of the couch. Crow was on one end, followed by his younger sister, Arella, then Stinger, and Darkstar who was on the other end.  
"She isn't going crazy, Nightstar. She lost control of her powers. There's a difference." Replied Crow in his usual monotone.  
"She seemed to have control of her powers when she blasted me into that wall!" I countered.  
"That wasn't her. That was Rage." Crow stated like it made everything clear.  
"Who?!"  
"Rage. Our magical powers run on our emotions, so to help control them our mom taught us how to separate our different emotions. We call them emonticlones. Rage is the hardest one to control. Without proper meditation, Rage can escape, like she did today with Sparrow." Everyone was now listening intently, trying to imagine what Crow was explaining. It's rare for the twins to share knowledge on their powers and it was nice to finally understand what goes on during their meditation.  
"So you meditate to control this "Rage" person and if you don't she takes over your minds?" Darkstar clarifies.  
"Well, we meditate to control all of our emotions and Rage is an emotion, not a person. Otherwise, yeah your right."  
"Oh! So that's why you and your folks are always so bent on getting her to meditate!" Stinger exclaimed.  
"Pretty much." Crow replied.  
"Will she be ok?" Darkstar asked, concerned for his secret crush.  
"Yeah, she'll be fine. As long as Mother doesn't kill her first." As if on cue, Raven and Changeling entered the main room. Raven looked as if she had been crying earlier, but other than that both their faces were unreadable.  
"Crow, can your mother go to your room to meditate?" Asked Changeling.  
"Um...yeah, sure. You remember which one it is?" Raven gave a simple nod and just like that she was gone.  
"Thanks son." Thanked Changeling.  
"No problem, Dad, but is everything ok?"  
"Yeah everything's ok. Both your mom and sister are a bit drained, but nothing some meditation can't fix." Crow nodded in response. "You kids got our rooms ready yet?" Changeling continued.  
"Yes sir. Third floor." I replied.  
"Right, Arella, can you bring me back to that hotel we were staying at? The one in Sydney, Australia?"  
"Yes Daddy." Arella agreed and slid off the couch to meet her dad. She grabbed his hand and left through a portal.  
"Why is he going back? They just got here!" Questioned Stinger.  
"He's getting their stuff. I kind of sent an emergency call to them. Once my connection with Sparrow broke, I knew what was happening and called them telepathically." Crow answered.  
"Wait a second! You called them here?" I accused.  
"Well yeah, I had too. Only Mother knows how to snap one of us out of it."  
"How do you know that? We could have handled it ourselves, without them knowing!"  
"You wanted me to risk the team's safety, just so you could look perfect to your father and the other titans?"  
"We could have handled it! And the Titans wouldn't have to get involved! You had no right to call them here without my permission!"  
"You're PERMISSION?! I have every right to call for help from _my_ PARENTS whenever I feel it necessary! I will not let your "daddy problems" effect my friend's and sister's safety!" Crow lost his temper and his eyes flashed red for a split second. I stepped back, shock evident on my face. Crow almost never lost his temper. He was always the most calm and collected person I knew and here he was, yelling at me. He stood up off the couch and stormed off towards his room.  
"Now I need to meditate." He muttered and was gone.  
"Nice going, Sis. Now we got _three_ , rage-induced, meta-humans in the tower." Darkstar said sarcastically while glaring at me."


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Notes: Thank you to those who are reading/reviewing my story! It means a lot to me that people are enjoying this story as much as I do. As you can tell, there is a lot going on in this story and it's not just about Nightstar and Sparrow. The story is going to show different conflicts between characters at the same time and will eventually come together. I welcome any reviews about the story as long as they aren't Flames. Any comments or critiques are appreciated. If you find any particular errors, such as miss-spelling, please let me know exactly what they are so that I can easily go back and fix it. I do spell check and grammar check all my chapters, but we all know Word isn't perfect. I'm also opened to hearing your ideas on the story, if you have any. I won't be writing to fit someone's idea, but if I like it and it fits in with the story, then I may use it and of course give you credit for the idea. I just want to make this a great story that everyone can love. Thanks again readers and enjoy Chapter 6! :)

Chapter 6

Crow's POV:

"Why must I live with the most stubborn people in existence?" I mentally cursed.  
"How dare that creature treat us like that?" Rage growled.  
"I think she would benefit from a slap over the head!" Hollered Brave.  
"Nightstar is just upset, because she fears what her father is going to say about all this." Stated Affection.  
"The whole team needs to just calm down. A lot has happened today and it's only 10 o'clock in the morning." Replied Wisdom.  
When I reached my room, I was surprised to see my mother floating above my bed in a deep meditation. "Mother?" I questioned before I remembered that I had given her permission to meditate here. She opened one eye and when she saw me she gently floated back down until she was sitting on my bed. "Sorry Mother! I forgot you were in here." She looked at me again, this time with two eyes. She was studying me for a minute before replying.  
"It's ok, Mark. It's your room, not mine. I'm just your guest."  
"Don't talk like that Mother! You know you're more than just a guest. What's mine is yours." She raised an eyebrow at that.  
"Oh really? So I can borrow this too." Mother said while grabbing my meditation mirror off the night stand next to my bed. My faced paled and I quickly grabbed the mirror from her.  
"Everything, but this!" I exclaimed. Mother only smiled a sweet, small smile. Then her face suddenly went serious.  
"Why were you so angry when you came in here?" She asked, her voice hinting curiosity rather than anger.  
"Oh, it's nothing, Mother. Just Nightstar, being well, Nightstar." I waved it off, hoping she would drop it. I could still sense her curiosity, but she pushed it away.  
"Ok then. Just don't let yourself lose it, like your sister."  
"I won't, Mother. I was actually coming here to meditate it off." That seemed to please her.  
"Very good then. I'll leave you to it. It's time for me to have a heart to heart with your sister, anyway." I gulped, but didn't question it.  
"Ok Mother, good luck!" I called out to her as she made her way to the door. Before she left though, she turned around and told me, "You're a good boy Mark. *pause* I love you." Her face was stoic, but I could sense quite a bit of affection and sentiment. Under that I could sense great turmoil, but before I could ask her about it the door slide shut and she was gone.

Sparrow's POV:

"Azerath, Mentrion, Zinthos." I hummed for what felt like the billionth time. I was trying so hard to focus, to clear my mind, as Mom would say, but nothing works. All I can do is listen to my emotions argue with each other.

"We were so close to defeating her!" Growled Rage.

"We totally would have won if Mom didn't show up." Agreed Brave.

"That's exactly why it's a good thing Mom showed up when she did! We could have hurt her, or worse." Squeaked Timid.

"For once, I agree with Timid. According to our memory library, this was the closes we have ever come to our primal instincts." Explained Knowledge.

"I told you we needed to mediate. You should have listened to me of all people." Stated Wisdom.

"You are not PEOPLE!" I shouted back.

"Emotions getting on your nerves, dear?" I opened my eyes to see my mom standing in front of me. With a scream I fell onto my bed. Once I recovered, I sent her a glare.

"Dad's right, you do need a bell." I retorted.

"Don't you start with me, young lady! Do you have any idea how dangerous it was for you to suddenly _stop_ meditating? Have I taught you nothing about self-control and self-discipline?"

I let out a big sign before I spoke up in a depressed voice. "I'm sorry Mom, ok? I really am. I know I should have been mediating more, but it just doesn't work for me."

"What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is that just like a minute ago, I can try and meditate all day long, but all I hear is my emotions chatting away in my head. It's like living with a constant headache!"

Mom pondered this for a minute, and then she asked, "Do you still have that old mirror I gave you?"

"Yeah, it's in my old toy chest, in front of the bed." I pointed straight in front of me. She walked over to it and opened it up. After a second of digging through it, she finally pulled out the old mirror. I would never admit it, but the mirror did look very pretty. My mom has one just like it, and so do my brother and sister. The only difference can be found on the back of all our mirrors. We each have a different kind of bird on the back. Mine is a Sparrow, Mom's is a Raven, Mark's is a Crow, and Arella's is a Dove. I guess you could say our family has a thing for birds.

Mom walked back around my bed and sat on the end. She turned her body so that she was facing me, with my mirror in her hands. She held it like it was a baby, and thought to myself "How strange?"

"Do you know why I gave you this mirror?" Mom asked.

"Not really, why?"

"This is a meditation mirror. It allows you to enter your mind when you need to meet with your emotions."

"Enter my mind? We can do that?"

"Yes we can. The mirror is a portal to your mind. Once you create the portal, anyone can use this to _literally_ get inside your head."

"What a minute! So all this time my brother and I have had a portal to our heads and you're just _now_ mentioning it?"

"Well you two and your sister have this power and I've already told Mark and Arella."

"WHAT!"

"Don't yell at me like that! I am your mother!" she scolded me. "The reason I haven't told you yet is because I didn't think you would need it until now."

"How would you know if I'm _ready_ for that or not? It's not like you guys are here all the time." I must have hit a nerve, because suddenly Mom's blank face turned into a heartbroken one. I could feel her sorrow, like a slap across the face. As quick as it came, it left, and my mom's mental shields went back up, blocking my empathy powers. "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean it. I'm glad you and dad don't hover over us anymore. I like being independent." My mom's face returned to its blank default.

"It's quit alright, Marie. You have the right to feel what you feel. I can't tell you to stop being angry as much as I can't tell you to start being happy. But, I do have my reasons for not telling you sooner, and I stand by them. Your emotions weren't nearly as strong last time we visited. Now that they are, it's time for you to move on to the next step in your training." I nodded in response and waited for her to continue. "Tomorrow we will begin opening the portal, but for now I want you to be extra aware of your emotions. Today is supposed to be a happy day, so at least try to keep it that way. If you feel yourself getting angry, leave the room and go mediate. One more blow up, and you'll be spending the rest of this week in here." Mom said with a stern voice.

"Yes, ma'am." I replied in a weak voice. Mom stood up and placed the mirror on my nightstand.

"Lesson one; keep the mirror in a safe place where it has less of a risk of breaking." Mom stated. Then she made her way out of my room, gesturing me to follow. "If my senses are right, the rest of my old team has just arrived." Mom said as I followed her through the hallway towards the main room. My animal hearing could pick up the always booming voice of my Uncle Cyborg coming from the same direction. I smiled as I thought of playing video games with him, my dad, and Stinger. My mom must have felt my happiness, because I could just barely make out a smile on her face. Right as we were about to walk through the door, mom came to a sudden stop. I stopped beside her, and searched her face for a clue as to what she was thinking. "Marie, there is one more thing I need you to know." I nodded my head curious as to what else she had to tell me. "Do me a favor, and be _extra_ kind to your sister for me. I don't want you two to fight anymore." Well that was random, I thought to myself. I tried to sense something from her, but as usual, she has me blocked out.

"Sure, Mom. I'll try my best." I promised. I was still baffled as to why my mom suddenly cared so much about my sister and I getting along, but I brushed it off as just her wanting me to keep my emotions in check. "Could today get any weirder?" I thought to myself as I followed Mom through the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes: Sorry everyone for the late update! All my electronics decided to break at the same time and so I had to buy a new laptop and re-type the new chapters. I have also started school so I probably will only be able to post a new chapter once a week. As always, if any readers have any comments, questions, or concerns, please feel free to let me know in a review. Thanks again for waiting and reading! Enjoy! :)

Nightstar VS Sparrow Ch. 7

Nightstar POV:

"Ugh!" I sighed as I fell onto the couch between Stinger and Darkstar. I threw my head back over the top of the couch so that I was staring at the ceiling. "Is it too much to ask for a little normalcy during our parents visit?" I asked, but before I got an answer another portal appeared and within a second it was replaced with Changeling carrying his body weight in luggage, with Arella standing next to him. She had one hand on her father's arm and the other was squeezing a green stuffed bear. I've known Arella all her life and she has always has her stuffed bear (cleverly named Bear) with her. Even at age six, she still hasn't outgrown that thing. Upon their arrival, I quickly fixed my posture so that I looked professional. "Welcome back Changeling." I said politely. Changeling nodded his head and replied, "Thanks Mar'I, but you can call me Mr. Logan. No need for the alias when you're around family, right?"

"Of course… Mr. Logan." I agreed.

"So same rooms as normal?" Mr. Logan asked.

"Yep! Do you remember where they are?" I questioned. He answered with a nod and made his way over to the elevator with Arella following close behind. Before Mr. Logan entered the elevator he turned his head the best he could while holding four full-sized luggage bags. "Not you little-bird. Stay here with your brother and his friends. I'll be back in just a minute." He told Arella.

"But Daddy! Mark isn't here!" Wined Arella. Mr. Logan scanned the room for the boy in question, and for the first time since his arrival notice the lack of Logan's in the Main room.

"Hey, where's my family?" Mr. Logan questioned.

"I'm not sure where Sparrow is, but Raven, or um, Miss Logan is in Crow's room and I suspect that's where Crow is as well." I answered.

"Um… ok then. Arella, why don't you go find Mark?" Mr. Logan suggested.

"Ok Daddy." Arella agreed and made her way out the regular door that led to our bedrooms. With a sigh of relief Mr. Logan exited through the elevator and just like that Stinger, Darkstar, and I were once again left by ourselves.

"Buzz," my communicator went off in my belt. When I checked it I saw that it was an alert that someone was at the front door. "Now who could that be?" I thought sarcastically. I got off the couch and over to the elevator, where I waited for its return. When it opened up empty I started my descent to the ground floor.

* * *

"Hey everyone!" I welcomed. In front of me stood the famous Bumblebee, Cyborg, Starfire, and the most famous of all, Nightwing. Only Nightwing changed significantly since his teen years, with a complete costume change and a new hair style to match. Everyone else just seemed to be a bit taller than their teen selves that I've seen in pictures. Starfire, otherwise known as my mother, instantly embraced me in one of her famous tamerian style hugs. "Oh the hey to you to my little Bumgorf! I have missed you and your brother very much!"

"I've missed you too Mom." I choked out.

"Kori let her breath." Nightwing said. Mom released me and I breathed in a big gulp of air to fill my lungs.

"I am sorry, daughter Mar'I! I am only the excited about our visit!" Mom explained.

"It's ok Mom. I'm fine and I'm excited to see you again too." I lied. As much as I loved my mom and the other Titans, I still enjoy my independence whenever they aren't around. I can handle having most any of them around for a short while. The only exception would be my dad, Nightwing.

"Well you going to let us in kid-o, or are we just gonna be standing here collecting dust?" Questioned Cyborg."

"Sorry, Cyborg. Please come in." I said as I stepped back and gestured them in. Cyborg laughed as they all made their way inside the tower. We all crossed the garage and entered the elevator. Cyborg of course helped avoid any awkward silence. "How many times do I have to tell ya kid, inside the tower you call me Uncle Vic?" He scolded me, but in a playful tone. I smiled and replied, "Well you weren't in the tower yet, so I couldn't call you Uncle Vic yet." Since I was born, Cyborg has insisted that I call him and his wife Karen aka Bumblebee, Uncle Vic and Aunt Karen. Same rules applying to Darkstar, Crow, Sparrow, and Arella. Which in a way makes Stinger our cousin, which everyone is fine with.

"She's got ya there Sparky!" Aunt Karen teased. Uncle Vic rolled his eyes and replied, "Well I can't wait to see if this girls' gaming is as good as her wit!" He then shot me a wink which I returned with an eye roll. Finally the elevator doors opened revealing the Main room. Darkstar and Stinger were still on the couch, chatting about something. When they heard the elevator door open they looked our way. Darkstar had a casual smile while Stinger wore an excited grin.

"Mom! Dad! You're here!" Stinger shouted while leaping off the couch to greet her parents with a group hug.

"Oh, it's so good to see you again! How's are little bug doing?" Aunt Karen asked her daughter while they continued with their family embrace.

"I'm good! How 'bout you guys?" Stinger asked.

"We've been good! Even better now that we're with our favorite daughter!" Uncle Vic teased. They released from their hug and Stinger was now standing in front of them. Stinger put her left hand on her hip and replaced her grin with a smug look.

"I better be your favorite!" Stinger retorted. Her response earned her a loud laugh from her parents. While Stinger was having her family reunion behind the couch, my parents and I joined Darkstar in front of the couch. Darkstar stood up and shared in an equally bone-crushing hug with our mother, before turning to our father to share a friendly handshake.

"Well I better go back down and get our stuff. I'm assuming same rooms as always?" My dad announced.

"Yes Sir." I answered back. With that my dad was gone, leaving all of us behind.

"Oh my little bumgorf's! I have the presents for each of you!" Mom said as she reached into her large, pink-bejeweled purse. She pulled out two small packages wrapped in red and green wrapping paper. You would think they were for Christmas. Each package had a name tag with our names on them respectively. Mom handed them to us and with caution we opened up the presents. I say with caution because normally our mom will bring us the most random and sometimes bizarre gifts that she thinks is "treasure to behold." An example would be the time she gave us actual penguin eggs from her and dad's mission in Antarctica. Apparently, she found them and stuck them in her purse saying that they "looked like fancy rocks." Dad was really mad about the whole thing when he found out. I guess it's illegal to smuggle Artic penguin eggs. He went on and on about this bring bad publicity to the Titans and that "every person from PETA to the ASPCA will be tearing us apart." Then Mom of course thought he meant they would literally tear us apart. Let's just say the whole thing was a big mess and ever since then Mom's "gifts" have to be pre-approved by our father.

As we open our present I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. In my hand laid a beautiful gold necklace with a golden star hanging from the chain. On the back of the star was an engraved M. I looked over to see what Darkstar had and he too had a piece of jewelry. Had a silver men's bracelet with a silver star to match. His star also had the first letter of his name engraved on the back.

"Mom, these are… beautiful!" I exclaimed.

"Of course! Just as you are my dear daughter!" Mom said causing me to blush in embarrassment. I'm not used to those kind of compliments and so it felt strange to hear, even from my mother.

"Cool! Thanks Mom!" Darkstar thanked our mother.

"You are most welcome my son!" Mom replied.

Just then the main door opened and Miss Logan followed by Sparrow joined us in the main room. I gulped when I saw Sparrow, but she just ignored me, instead choosing to stare at everyone else, but me. Our mothers exchanged hellos and my mother forced a hug on both Miss Logan and then Sparrow. After which they both retreated and went over to the other side of the room to talk to Uncle Vic, Aunt Karen and Stinger. Then the elevator doors opened up to reveal my father and Sparrow's father. They stood side by side, so you could see just how evenly matched these two looked when comparing physical strength. Right now though, they both seemed ticked off. The room went silent due to everyone clearly noticing the tension coming from the men exiting the elevator. I didn't need to be an empath to know that those two obviously were arguing just moments before. "Just great!" I thought to myself. "More rage-induced meta-humans to deal with!"


	8. Chapter 8

Nightstar VS Sparrow Ch. 8

Sparrow's POV:

I watched as my dad and Nightwing exited the elevator and joined their respective families. Nightwing hid his anger easily behind his mask, and approached Starfire and his kids like nothing happened. He put his arm around Starfire and started to chat about something with his kids. My dad on the other hand, had a ticked off look that didn't seem to be going away anytime soon. As he made his way over to us, Mom gave him the "what the heck happened" look. A look Dad and I know entirely too well. Dad gave her a look in return that meant "we'll talk later." I could sense my mom's slight irritation mixed with curiosity and concern. As Dad approached us, Uncle Vic broke the silence.

"Hey Grass-stain! What's up with you and Dick?" Uncle Vic questioned, knowing full well that Dad wasn't going to be sharing any details right now.

"Let's just say Bird-boy is living up to his name." Dad mumbled. Uncle Vic just laughed.

"So does that mean he's acting like a bird or a –"

"Victor!" Aunt Karen interrupted. She glanced over at Stinger and me before looking back at her husband. Uncle Vic must have gotten the message because he didn't finish the sentence.

"Um, so how's it going with y'all?" Uncle Vic asked my parents, who were now standing next to each other with Mom's left arm wrapped around Dad's right arm.

"As good as a hero's live can be, I suppose." Mom deadpanned.

"That bad huh?" Teased Uncle Vic. Uncle Vic seemed to help lighten the mood because both my parents began to smile a little bit. Just when I thought everything could finally be settling down, I hear Darkstar's outburst.

"How dare you! Sparrow is a member of this team and is practically family! What kind of monster would even imply on having to do something like that to their fellow teammate; to a friend!" Darkstar shouted to his father. His hands started to glow green as he stormed out of the room and through the main door. Curious and worried I decided to follow Darkstar out the door. When I caught back up to him he pretended like I wasn't there and instead kept his hurried pace to his room. I've been in Darkstar's room before, but it's not often. If we are ever hanging out together it's either in my room or the Main Room, so I hesitated to continue after him when we reached his room. " _Aw, why not? This seems important._ " I thought and followed him in.

Darkstar's room is small compared to mine and Stinger's. The walls are in their original state, but covered in posters of Darkstar's favorite superheroes, movies, and bands. He has a full sized bed, drawers, and a desk with a fancy new laptop. His laptop was not nearly as high-tech as Stinger's, but was still one of the newest models with all the up to date software. It's mostly just used for video games and movies, along with the occasional video chat. Also on his desk was a plain looking notebook that he used as a drawing book. Darkstar was an amazing artist, and he would spend a lot of his free time glued to his book, doodling random things and people. Every now and then he'll show me one of his drawings, but for the most part he kept them private. I've always been curious as to what he hides in that notebook of his, and when we were younger I would make it a game to try and sneak a peek inside it. One day I finally got a hold of it, but not long enough to look past the first half of it. After that Darkstar and I had an agreement that I would stop trying to invade his privacy and in exchange he would share some of his work with me. As we entered his room, he grabbed his notebook and a pencil and plopped himself on his bed. As soon as he found the page he wanted he started scribbling frantically. Another purpose the notebook has is as a stress reliever. Darkstar isn't easily ticked off, but when anything is bothering him he uses drawing as an outlet. Unsure of what to do, I just stood there with my arms crossed over my chest.

"Care to explain your little melt-down?" I questioned, my eyes never leaving his face.

"Care to explain yours?" He retorted. His comeback caught me off guard and my expression should my shock. "You're not the only one who can lose their cool."

"No, you're right, I'm not the only one. But that still doesn't mean you can't explain to me why you lost it out there!" I yelled at him, my patience fading away.

"I don't want to talk about, Sparrow. Now leave me alone." He grumbled, his focus more on what he was drawing than our argument. This only made me angrier.

"Whatever you and your dad were talking about ticked you off and I know it was about me! I have every right to know! Now spill it!"

"Ugh!" Darkstar signed throwing his back and hitting it on his bed's headrest. "Please just drop it, Sparrow! Trust me you don't want to know."

"I'm pretty sure I do." I said, obviously annoyed. After some hesitation, Darkstar finally sat up and moved so that he was sitting on the edge of his bed, his feet touching the floor.

"Alright I'll tell you, but you should probably sit down first." He offered as he patted the empty spot next to hi on the bed. I complied and once I was comfy and staring at him eagerly, he began recalling his conversation with his dad.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Notes:** Hello fellow readers! I hope everyone is having a great start to their week! I would like to thank those of you who are following, reviewing, and even making this story one of your favorites. It defiantly reinforces my love for writing and my commitment to this story. I do ask that you try and keep your reviews PG. I understand that some people use cursing in a humorous way, but I'm old fashion and rather not have that kind of language associated with my story. I'm not upset, just thought I'd let y'all know for in the future. As you may have already noticed in my story, I'm not into using curse words of any kind unless I feel they add necessary voice and character. I hope I'm not offending anyone, because that's not what I'm trying to do. Just not a fan of cursing, even if it is in this form: *** Anyway, I want all readers to know that this chapter starts where Chapter 8 started. Just in Nightstar's POV. After this chapter I plan for the story to move further into the plot. So far all of what you have read is icing on the cake! As always, please review with any of your comments, questions, or concerns. Enjoy! :)

* * *

Nightstar VS Sparrow Chapter 9

Nightstar POV:

I watched as my dad and Mr. Logan exited the elevator to their respective family's. My dad was still angry, but he hid it well once all eyes were on him. He came up to us and wrapped his arm around our mother. Mom looked concerned, but didn't press the issue.

"So, Mari anything interesting happen before we got here?" Dad asked coldly.

" _Oh, crap!_ " I thought, " _He knows!_ " "Well we had our usual morning training before your arrival. And before that I did a last minute inspection of the tower." I replied.

"What happened during training?" Dad inquired.

"We spared."

"What happened during the sparring?"

"Why does it matter?"

At this point Dad and I were face to face, announce evident on our faces.

"Enough of this! Tell me what happened this morning during training right now! That's an order!" Dad snapped.

*Sigh* "Fine. Today during training one of my teammates lost control of their powers and we had to deal with it. But as I said, we dealt with it and the situation has been fixed. No need for worry." I said, hoping he would leave it at that. Of course I'm not that lucky.

"Well I just spoke with Changeling, and from what he had to tell me it seems your teammate, Sparrow, has been neglectful of her training and put the entire team at risk. Is this true Nightstar?"

"Well I guess that's one way of putting it." I mumbled. " _Although, I highly doubt that's how Changeling put it._ " I thought. My dad sighed and held his head in his hand.

"How many times must I tell you, Mari, never try to hide anything from me? It really is quite futile." He said while crossing his arms around his chest. "I just want you to know that if this kind of thing becomes a habit you will need to be prepared to make the tuff calls."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Darkstar asked before I could respond. His voice dripping with irritation. Dad sent him a glare before he replied.

"It means that next time Sparrow decides to skip meditation and ends up being controlled by Rage, thereby putting everyone's safety at risk, as a leader, Nightstar will have to be prepared to do whatever it takes to keep the team and Jump City safe." His last comment really stung, but before I could say anything Darkstar once again beat me to it.

"How dare you! Sparrow is a member of this team and is practically family! What kind of monster would even imply on having to do something like that to their fellow teammate; to a friend!" Darkstar shouted, his hands starting to glow green. Before I could calm him down, he made a swift exit for the door. Within a moment Sparrow ran after him. I look around the room and notice that everyone is now staring at my parents and I. Everyone, but Mr. Logan look shocked. Mr. Logan just looked smug.

"So, Dick, I guess I'm not the only one you managed to piss off with that idea." Mr. Logan said, earning a death glare from my dad. But years of receiving those looks from both his leader and his wife have made him practically immune. Instead of backing down, Mr. Logan just returned the glare with one of his own.

"Nightwing, what exactly is the meaning of all this. First you and Gar show up here angry at each other, and then you say something to your kids that in turn make them angry, and finally Johnathan blows up about something to do with _my_ daughter. So please, enlighten us on what all this commotion is about." Mrs. Logan demanded. For the first time, Dad actually looked nervous. Dad isn't afraid of much, but an angry Raven is probably every Titans worst fear. Especially when it involves her kids.

"Yeah, Dick, enlighten her!" Mr. Logan taunted. Apparently, he was going to use his wife's anger to his advantage. Dad cleared his throat before he began to recap what he told us and Mr. Logan.

"Well you see, Raven, it has come to my attention that Sparrow – "

"Maria." Interrupted Mrs. Logan.

"Very well, it has come to my attention that _Maria_ wasn't keeping up with her meditation and therefore lost control of her powers during the kids training session. As a result of her… _carelessness_ (Mr. Logan was growling now), Maria endangered her teammates. As the head of the Titans, it is my job to make sure all fellow Titans and Teen Titans are safe. As leader of this team, Nightstar is also responsible for her teams safety and if a member of her team jeopardizes their safety then she should be ready to make tuff decisions in order to protect as many people has possible. Do you not agree with that, Raven?" Dad's eyes narrowed at Raven, and she did the same. Other than her narrowed eyes, she wore her classic blank expression.

"I can agree that our children's safety is very important and that, as a leader, Mari carries most of that responsibility while in our absence. However, I believe it is every team member's job to watch out for each other's safety, and that it is every friend's job to care about the others wellbeing. If they are ever in a situation where they have to fight one of their own, I can only hope and trust them to make the right decisions. As for my daughters' behavior, the problem has been dealt with accordingly. I know my children's strengths and weaknesses, Richard. Gar and I will be the only ones to make as what you have coined as "tuff calls" when regarding our children. Do you not agree with that, Richard?"

Dad became flustered upon hearing Mrs. Logan's comeback. He looked like he too was about to lose his temper and was starting to make his way over to her, but was stopped by Mr. Logan's vicious snarl. I've known Mr. Logan all my life, but as fun and caring as he can be, he can also scare the crap out of me. Mr. and Mrs. Logan are in charge of training new Teen Titians. Over half of the Titans and all of the current Teen Titans have been trained under them. They make a really great team because Mr. Logan is patient and understanding, while Mrs. Logan is level-headed and strict. Before I became a Teen Titan, they were like my aunt and uncle. Darkstar and I would always stay with them while our parents were out on a mission. Darkstar wasn't wrong when he said we were all like family. It wasn't until we all began our official training that all those relationships changed. Mr. and Mrs. Logan were now my instructor's, and Dad was now Nightwing, our great and fearless leader.

When I began my training I was told by some of the older Teen Titans that I had to be carful around the Logan's. Apparently, Mr. and Mrs. Logan were known to go berserk if they thought anyone was as much as thinking of hurting their family. And I guess it was also an unspoken rule that once a male Titan reaches puberty they weren't allowed to be beyond five feet of Mrs. Logan. This rule confused me at first, but once I got older I started to see what they meant. Mr. Logan was actually extremely protective and in some cases possessive. Stinger once explained to me that it was because of his animal instincts, and that once a guy reach puberty, he was viewed as competition and a threat in the eyes of Mr. Logan. I've never really witnessed this, and it doesn't seemed to be an issue with Crow or Darkstar, so I didn't really know what happened when Mr. Logan got that – extreme. That is until now, when I noticed his teeth drawn back in a snarl, revealing his very sharp and suddenly long fangs, and his pupils narrowing like a snake about to strike. Immediately, I stood in my battle stance and I could just make out Stinger doing the same behind the Logan's. Although the adults seemed very cautious, none of them made a move. " _Their used to this!_ " I thought to myself. Mrs. Logan put a hand on Mr. Logan's shoulder and my mom did the same to my dad. They both snapped out of it and you could feel the atmosphere in the room start to go back to normal. Mom and Dad excused themselves as they left the main room through the elevator. Mr. Logan left through the main door that lead to our rooms, with Mrs. Logan at his heels.

"Yay, so I'm just gonna get our stuff out of the T-car. Honey would you mind –"Uncle Vic started.

"Right behind ya Sparky!" Replied Aunt Karen, and they quickly made an exit to the elevator. Leaving Stinger and myself alone in the main room. With a loud sigh I threw myself onto the couch.

"Stinger, do you ever wish we could go back in time and be kids again? When our parents weren't at each other's throat and the only thing we had to worry about was what's for dinner." I asked her. She sat beside me and answered, "I don't know, but aren't we _still_ kids?" I didn't answer back, mainly because I didn't have an answer. Stinger I guess wasn't looking for an answer and instead of asking again, she grabbed the TV control and began to turn on the game consol.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Notes:** Hi everyone! I'm happy to say that I've been able to update for frequently lately. I hope that can continue! So this is a short chapter and has a bit more fluff than previous chapters. I'm sorry if it's to slow or tedious for y'all. I promise it will get better! I just thought this would be a good break from all the drama so far in this story. As always, please read and review! Thank you to all my readers who sticking with this story so far! And a special thanks to those who review, follow, and/or favorite! Enjoy!

* * *

Nightstar VS Sparrow Ch. 10

Sparrow POV:

"Huh, so this really _is_ all my fault?" I asked Darkstar as he finished his side of the story.

"What? No, of course not! It's my dad's fault for ticking everyone off, not yours." Darkstar said apologetically. I rolled my eyes at his attempt to cheer me up.

"No, Darkstar, it's my fault. Your dad was right when he said it was careless of me. Truth is, I _couldn't_ meditate. It's just become too hard to clear my mind and concentrate. Mediating is a lot harder than people seem to think. And so instead of asking for help, I just ignored the problem. I stopped mediating altogether and I tried to just control my powers myself. Obviously, that didn't work." I confessed.

"Ok, so maybe that was a little stupid." He replied. I glared at him. "Ok, so it was very stupid! But, that doesn't justify what my dad was saying about having to hurt you."

"Darkstar, that's not what he said."

"But he implied it!"

"Well, what if – what if he's right?" Darkstar and I made eye contact, both of us wearing serious expressions.

"Don't talk like that Mar." Darkstar whispered. I always felt butterfly's whenever he used my nickname.

"But, what if I ever _do_ lose control again, and my parents can't save me? What if no one can save me?" I looked at him with scared, pleading eyes, but his response shattered all my fears.

" _I'll_ always save you, Mar."

Before I could answer I could sense another person. I quickly turned around to see the door closed, but I could still sense someone behind it. I got up and jerked the door up. With a fa-thud, my dad hit the floor face first. Darkstar jumped off his bed, clearly surprised to see my dad had been spying on us. _"Though I guess its improvement from him spying on me as a fly on the wall – literally."_ I thought.

"Dad! I can't believe you! You were spying on me! _Again_!" I yelled at him.

"I told you not to lean that close to the door, Dad." Crow said.

"Crow! You too!" I growled.

"And me!" Arella cheered.

"Urgh!" I screamed.

"Watch your temper young lady!" Scolded my mother.

"Mom! You too? I thought you were better than that?" I accused.

"I choose not to pry into your personal business, unless I feel it is absolutely necessary. Although, this is not one of those times. I tried to stop them, but they were dead-set on listening. Or trying to anyway." Mom glared at the three culprits. They responded with wicked grins.

"Urgh! I can't believe you guys! Can't a girl have any privacy?" I complained.

"Not in a boy's room, she can't!" Declared my dad as he got up off the ground.

"Urgh!" I growled and stormed out of Darkstar's room, leaving poor Darkstar standing dumbfounded in his room. I passed my family and made my way to the main room, where hopefully things were starting to get back to normal.

I entered the main room to find Stinger and Nightstar playing on the game console. They were currently involved in a very intense game. Smiling and relieved to see something normal happen for once, I jumped up over the back of the couch next to Stinger.

"I call next round!" I stated. Their response was a quick nod, their eyes never leaving the TV. I sensed two familiar presents enter the room and soon Mark was sitting next to me, with Arella sitting on the ground in front of us. Her back against the couch. When it was finally my turn, I noticed Darkstar also entered the main room, followed by my parents. _"I_ _wonder what they were talking about."_ I thought. _"Oh well, I got a game to win!"_ We spent the rest of that day playing video games and hanging out with our families. Dad and Uncle Vic eventually joined us, followed by Aunt Karen and before you knew it we had a full on Titan Gaming Tournament. Although, not everyone participated, Mom opted for reading while Starfire, Nightwing, and Arella decided to just watch and cheer on the others. " _This is what I miss. Our family, acting like a family. Not a team."_


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Notes** : Sorry everyone for not updating in a while. Like I said before, I'm back in school, so I can't always update as often as I would like. I was requesting to try different POV's, rather than just Nightstar's and Sparrow's, so I thought I would give it a try! For the next couple chapter's, including this one, I will have different storylines going on. This way you can get an idea of other character personalities. You may also notice that I tend to shy away from action scenes. This is because I simply don't know how to write them. I've never really written anything with action (ex. fighting scenes) and therefore I would appreciate any advice for future knowledge on how to write well-written battle scenes. Also, does anyone know why I can no longer see my story's traffic graph? For views it says N/A. If any of you more experienced writers know, please let me know. Thank you! As always, please R&R and follow/favorite too! ;) Enjoy!

Nightstar VS Sparrow Ch. 11 Day 2

Nightstar POV:

"BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!" I was rudely awakened to the sound of the mission alert tower alarm. "Ugh!" I groaned as I slowly sat up in my bed. I picked up my communicator to check the time. 7:27am flashed in red and I let out another annoyed groan. "Why do crimes always happen either super early or super late? Can't they get their butt kicked at a decent hour?" I mentally complained. I quickly got out of bed and dressed myself. Once I was ready I met the rest of my team in the main room. I was used to being the first one there, but this time I was surprised to see six bodies already in the room. My father was already at the mission control table, checking for the crime in question. "Um, what are you guys doing?" I questioned. All the gathered Titans spun around to face me. They looked like deer in the head lights.

"What took you so long, Mari? And where's your team? If this is the reaction you all give when faced with potential danger, then – "

"We're fine Dad." I interrupted him. I quit frankly was not in the mood for one of his famous rants on how "irresponsible we are" or how "back when he was a Teen Titan…bla, bla, bla." I moved in between my mother and father, and scanned the screen below. The rest of my team made their way in and replaced the adult Titans around the touch-screen table.

"Who the heck is breaking the law at seven in the morning?" Sparrow complained. She looked more tired than anyone else.

"Looks like it's… Dr. Light." I said. I heard a chorus of groans come from my team and I couldn't blame them. Waking up this early just to fight a low-grade villain was enough to irritate anyone. "Alright team, I know it's early, but let's go ahead and get this out of the way." The team silently agreed and we all started to pile in the elevator that would lead us to our version of a T-Car.

"Go get'em little dudes! Call us if ya need us!" Mr. Logan told us as we started to exit the room.

* * *

Sparrow POV:

"Concentrate, Maria. Deep breaths." Mother said for what seemed like the billionth time.

"I'm trying Mother! If I concentrate any harder, this stupid mirror will explode!" I snapped at her. We were in Mark's room since it tends to be the quietest. Mom and I were floating side-by-side over the spare bed in his room. In my hands was my magic mirror. After my team's fight with Dr. Light, Mom wanted me to start practicing using the mediation mirror. Of course it had to be as soon as we got home, when everyone else was enjoying a leisurely breakfast and playing another round of video games. Only _my_ mother would think of a way to combine punishment with training.

"Maria, this is important. You shouldn't be so concerned with what the others are doing. You need to be completely focused on the task at hand."

"You sound like Mark." I grumbled.

"Well you sound like your father." She retorted.

"What's so bad about that?" I asked. She gave me her famous glare.

"As much as I love your father, he can be a bit… irresponsible. Much like you are at times, but even he had to learn some self-discipline. I'll tell you what I've told every young hero I've helped train, if Gar can do it, you can do it too."

"humph, whatever."

*Sigh* "Alright Maria, try again. Remember, you need to focus on the mirror. Look inside yourself and picture your mind being emptied inside the mirror. Don't think about anything else."

I decided to take my mother's advice, and imagined what my netherworld would look like. Mom has described her mind before, so I tried to think of that. I pictured a stone pathway, with special portals that opened into different realms that represented my different emotions. Though, I've never actually seen my emoticlones, I can hear them and I've always imagined what they would look like. Once I had the image of my mind I imagined it being sucked into the mirror. After a few deep breaths and as much concentration as I could muster, I felt my mind empty of all thoughts. Then, I felt something grab me and drag me into my mirror. "Aaah!" I screamed as I fell through the portal and landed with a thud onto hard, cold stone. I slowly pushed myself up off the ground and held my head, trying to stop the pounding. "Ugh. What the heck, Mother? I would appreciate a little warning next time." I looked around for her, but all I could see was the stone walkway I imagined just moments ago. "Mom!" I called for her, but again received no reply. That's when I realized that I was in my mirror – and without my mother. I stood up and scanned the area. "Well now what?" I wondered out loud. I remembered what Mom and Dad told me about being in Nethermoor. They said that if I just follow the path, it will lead me to my emoticlones. So that's exactly what I did.

As I passed through another portal, I entered a woodland landscape. The environment looked familiar with the Jump City Park Mom and Dad used to take Mark and me to when we were little. Visiting the local parks was always my favorite thing to do when I was younger. Mom and Dad had to travel around the world and visit the other Titan Towers, since Dad was in charge of recruiting and training new Titans. Mom didn't trust anyone to take of us and Dad wanted us to "experience different cultures and meet new people," so consequently we would always go where ever they went. I always enjoined traveling and meeting other heroes and in some cases, their children, but my favorite thing to do was to go see the local park. Dad and I would change into random animals and run (or sometimes fly) around the park, while Mom would read with Mark on one of the park benches or under a shady tree. It was the only time I could just let go and have fun without worrying if I'd do something wrong.

As I looked around, I noticed a small, green rabbit hopping towards me. As it got closer, I knelt down on one knee and reached out to try and pet it. "Hey there little one, aren't you just the cutest thing every!" I said, excitement bubbling out of me. I loved animals, especially cute furry one's! As soon as the words left my mouth, the bunny quickly changed into a teenage girl, who happened to look like a copy of myself, except for the pink suit she wore. I jumped backed and let out a small scream, surprise evident on my face.

"Aww! What a nice thing to say, Me!" My doppelganger said. She had a huge toothy grin plastered to her face.

"Who the heck are you, and why do you look like me?" I nearly shouted at her. She started to giggle before answering my questions.

"You're so silly, Me! You know who I am!" She stated. I just stared at her, searching my brain for an answer as to who this look-a-like was. Then it hit me!

"You're an emoticlone!" I exclaimed.

"You bet! Happy at your service, Ma' am!" Happy said and did a fake salute.

"Oh, so you're the famous Happy I hear all the time in my head!"

"The one and only!"

"Wow! This is so cool! Tell me though, what's with the wooded park?"

"Well, your happiest memories came from the visits to the different parks, therefore my realm resembles a park." I nod in understanding.

"Ok, that makes sense. So how do I get out of here?"

"Out of my realm or your mind?"

"My mind."

"Well the answer to both is to go straight through my realm! You'll need to cross several realms to reach Knowledge. Only she knows the way out."

"Alrightee then, lead the way, Happy." Happy squealed in excitement. She quickly turned back into a rabbit and hopped as fast as she could through the woods. "Hey, wait up!" I called after her. I too changed into a rabbit and chanced after her.

* * *

Darkstar POV:

After our successful fight against Dr. Light, I wanted to start a rematch with Sparrow. She beat everyone at last night's family video game show down. She was the best gamer in the Tower, and maybe even the world, but every now and then I'm able to beat her. So I was disappointed when Sparrow's mom made her go mediate. I knew it was probably for the best, but now I wasn't really in the mood to play video games. Nightstar must have noticed my disappointment as Mrs. Logan lead Sparrow down the hall to Mark's room, because she invited me to spar with her. Usually, Nightstar prefers to train alone, but sometimes she'll invite me to join her. When we arrived in the gym, we wasted no time getting into our fighting stances and began sparring. I enjoyed training alone with my sister. It gave us time to vent to each other whenever we needed to, or just to talk about anything going on in the world. We were also pretty equal in our fighting abilities, so I didn't need to hold back my tamerian strength and neither did she. As we sparred, she decided to start off the conversation.

"So, Darkstar, what's going on with you and Sparrow?" She teased. The question caught me off guard and she was able knock me down on the mat.

"Cheap shot, Sis." I complained as I got back up on my feet. She just shrugged.

"Hey, you shouldn't have dropped your guard. Now answer the question."

"What question?"

"Quit stalling and answer my question. What's up with you and Sparrow?"

"Nothing's up. I've told you before, were just good friends."

"Right, and I'm just an average teenage girl with no brains."

"Hey, you said it not me!" This remark earned me a very hard punch in the gut. "Ok, jeez, I was just kidding." I managed to say once I got the air back in my lungs.

"Well you're not funny."

"Ouch, that's harsh Sis, even for you."

"Oh! Just get on with it! I want to know what's going on between you two."

"Well, I don't go begging you to explain your relationship with a certain speedster." This time I caught her off guard and was able to trip her off her feet. She landed face down on the mat and it took her a moment to register what had just happened. When she got up, her face was flushed, but I could tell she was angry about making the same mistake I had made not too long ago.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, really? You don't remember Dash West? Son of the famous Kid Flash and Jinx? Leader of Teen Titans East? Did I just imagine your 10 year crush on the first 2nd generation Titan?" At this point we had stopped sparring. Nightstar's face turned red with both embarrassment and irritation.

"You know what just forget I said anything." She said and made her way to the weights. "Bet you I can lift more than you!" She challenged.

"Oh, it is on like Donkey Kong!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes:** Hello fellow readers! Sorry for the late update. I had a crazy week at school! Please read and review! Thank you everyone! Enjoy!

Nightstar VS Sparrow Ch. 12

Sparrow POV:

I was panting loudly, once I finally caught up to Happy. The giggly emotion couldn't stop laughing at me and it was starting to get announcing. "What's so funny, Happy?" I asked once a transformed back into my human self.

"Haha… it's you silly! Hahaha… you look hilarious right now!" Happy was laughing at my now sweaty uniform and wild hair.

"Well quit laughing! It's your fault that I look like I've been through a tornado! Why did you have to go through the thickest part of the woods?"

"Hehe… because it's fun!" Happy cheered and let out another fit of giggles.

"Ugh! You're starting to give me a headache." I said while holding my head and massaging my temples.

"Hehe… sorry Me." Happy apologized. She finally stopped laughing and suddenly looked very bashful.

*Sigh* "It's alright, just tell where to go from here." For the first time, I started to scan my new surroundings. We were at the edge of the woods, and bordering the woods was what appeared to be another portal.

"Just keep going straight. The portal will bring you into Love's realm. She'll help you from there."

"Ok, thank you Happy!"

"Your Welcome, Me! Come again!" Happy waved me off, a huge smile on her face. I turned to face the portal, but before I continued, I had to ask Happy one more thing.

"Hey Happy, before I go, can you tell me where I can find Love? I don't want any more surprises."

"Hehe! Love finds you, silly!" Happy stated, like it was completely obvious. Her last comment left me confused, but before I could question her, she gave me a slight push through the portal.

The landscape remained the same, resembling the many parks my family and I would visit when I was younger. As I made my way through the woods, I noticed that each tree had a heart carved into it. In the heart was a name of something I loved. Sometimes it would be the name of my favorite video games or the name of my favorite foods. I also noticed that all the trees were of a different height and age. As I got further into the woods, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. I was constantly looking over my shoulder, but I never saw anyone. Suddenly the woods opened up to a large clearing. The clearing was in the shape of a circle, and in the middle of the circle, was a ginormous old oak tree. The tree memorized me, and I couldn't help myself when I slowly approached the tree, as if it were to run away. Unlike the other trees, this one was decorated with many carvings. On the trunk was the largest heart carving I've seen yet, and inside was the word FAMILY. The grand old oak also had a variety of branches going in ever-which-way. Each branch has names on them, the larger branches having family names and the smaller branches having individual names. "What is this place?" I asked in amazement. I let my hand gently trace the outline of the large heart carved into the trunk.

"This is my realm and that is your family tree." A mysterious voice answered back. I quickly turned around only to see the voices owner sitting high up in a nearby tree that bordered the clearing. Again the emoticlone looked identical to me, but this time her suit was completely purple. Instead of a wide grin plastered to her face like Happy, she only gave me a small, sincere smile.

"You must be Love, right?" I asked.

"Indeed, I am." Love replied.

"Well why are you up there, being all sneaky?"

"Let's just say, I _love_ to sneak up on people." Said Love. She began to climb back down and then she joined me by what she had called, my family tree. "I see you've taken a liking to your family tree."

"Yeah, about that, what's with all the carvings around here?"

"Oh those. They're just labels. Helps to keep everything organized."

"Keep what organized?"

"Your love for everyone and everything, why of course."

"Um…think you could elaborate?"

"Hugh. I suppose. Look at the first carving, there on the trunk." Love directed as she pointed to heart shaped carving. I did as she told and listened carefully as she explained. "That heart reads FAMILY. This is because everything on this tree is what you feel towards you're family."

"But most of these names on the branches are of my friends and their families?"

"That is because these people feel like your family." I nodded my head in understanding and she continued. "Let's take this branch for example…" Love gestured towards the large center branch. "This branch is labeled immediate family. So therefore, the branches that extend from here represent those in your immediate family, like your Mother, Father, Crow, and Arella." I examined the branches she was referring to and saw that she was right. Each of the four branches had the name of someone in my immediate family. What puzzled me though, was why each branch was a little bit different. My mom's and dad's branches looked pretty much the same, only his looked a tad greener with more leaves. Crow's was just a tad shorter than my parents, but his too had many leaves to cover it. The branch that stood out the most was Arella's. Her branch was much shorter than the other's and a lot less green.

"Why is Arella's branch so much shorter than everyone else's?" I asked Love.

"Because… you love her the least." Love answered, her voice filled with sorrow.

"Hey now! I love my little sister, she just gets on my nerves easily." I retorted, unable to believe what I was hearing. Love stared at me, her expression contradicting her name.

"I never said you didn't love your sister. If that were true then she wouldn't even have a branch. I know it's hard to hear, but you truly have much more hatred towards your sister than love. The same holds true for Mar'i. Why, her branch is even smaller." Love said and pointed to a tiny twig with Mar'i Grayson carved into it.

"I don't understand, how can I hate and love someone?" I asked Love, but she just shrugged her shoulders.

"To be honest, I don't know. I love everyone! That's my job, but only you can hold me back."

"What are you talking about? I've never held you back!"

"Well, I guess you partially hasn't, but Rage has, all the time. And sometimes Timid too."

"Well, where are they? I'll be more than happy to tell them to back off!" I growled. Love only shook her head in disapproval.

"You shouldn't say things like that. You'll only fuel the fire."

"Whatever, just tell me how to get to Knowledge so I can leave this place?"

"Very well. All you have to do is turn left from here. Continue west and eventually you'll pass through another portal, which will lead you to Knowledge and Wisdom. They should be able to help you from there." I nod my head in understanding and start the long trek through the woods.

* * *

Crow's POV:

After the battle with Dr. Light, I decided to read a good book, and relax in the common room. As soon as we returned, Mom made Sparrow go mediate with her. That meant that my sister and my room would be preoccupied. Darkstar seemed pretty disappointed too, but Nightstar cheered him up by spending some training time in the gym, just one-on-one. Stinger went with her dad to her room to work on some sort of new invention and Aunt Karen and Starfire were at the mall. I wasn't sure where Nightwing was, but I didn't care. As I was just starting to get into my book, Dad and Arella appeared in front of me.

"Thank you, Sweetie!" Dad thanked Arella. To be honest, I didn't even realize that they were gone.

"Where have you two been?" I questioned.

"Oh, just had to pick up some groceries." Dad replied. That's when I noticed the large brown bag in his arm.

"You didn't have to do that, Dad. There should be plenty of food in the kitchen." I said.

"Plenty for you dudes, but not enough for all of us." Dad stated, although I didn't believe him since Nightstar and I were the last to buy groceries just a couple days ago.

"Dad, we just bought enough food to feed an army. What else could you possibly have needed?"

"Well…um…we….er…your mother asked me to…um."

"Oh for Pete's sake Dad, just spit it out!"

"Hehe…Daddy had to buy Mommy – "

"Tea! Yeah that's right. I had to buy your mother's tea. You guys didn't have the kind she likes. Um…see." Dad interrupted Arella by covering her mouth with his free hand. When he removed his hand he pulled out a box of Jasmine Tea. I looked at him, then to Arella who just shrugged, indicating she didn't understand either, then back to Dad.

"Uh, Dad, you do know we have lots of Jasmine Tea already?"

"Yeah, well, you know your mother. She likes to make her tea from a bag, the old fashion way. Trying to teach her how to use that new Keurig thing of yours is like trying to teach her how to play video games."

"Yeah I guess you're right." I nodded in understanding. I decided not to push the matter anymore. I was more interested in getting back to my book.

"Mark, could you watch your sister, while I put this stuff away."

"Crap." I thought. "And just when I was reaching a really good part in my book!"

*Sigh* "I suppose so." I said.

"Thanks, Son! And try to sound happier about it."

And with that he left to put the tea and other groceries away, leaving Arella and I alone in the common room. Arella stared at me with a frown on her face.

"I'm sorry you have to watch me instead of reading your book." Arella apologized. Normally I would object to feeling that way, but there's no use in lying to a fellow empath. Instead I gave her a sympathetic smile.

"It's alright, Arella. I can read some other time." I told her, but judging by her sad expression she didn't believe me. "Hey, how about a game of chess?" I asked her. This earned me a small smile and a rapid head shake indicating that this idea pleased her. I smiled back and used my magic to summon a chess board and pieces. It sat on the table between the T.V. and the couch. Arella used her powers to summon a large pillow for her to sit in while I scooted off the couch and sat on the floor.

"Thank you, Mark." Arella said.

"Anytime, little Sis."


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Notes:** Hi everyone! I'm very sorry for not updating. I'm not on hiatus, just busy with school. Fellow writers I'm sure can understand. Hopefully, this will help satisfy you guys! ;) I will continue the story and I promise to finish it. I just don't know how long it will take me. As always please read and review! I'm always open to suggestions! I also started a Tumblr account under the same name, JHWLGH. I will be posting this story on there as well and I will try a participate in BBRae Week Fall 2015. So look for some new stories there! Thank you and again, I apologize for the late update! Enjoy! :)

Nightstar VS Sparrow Ch. 13

Sparrow's POV:

After my journey through the woods, I found myself standing in front of a large building that appeared to have a roman-like architecture. Engraved on the top of the building was the word "LIBRARY." Assuming Knowledge and Wisdom were inside, I climbed to the top of the mighty marble staircase. When I entered, I realized the inside resembled more of a giant Barnes and Nobles than an ancient roman library. There were countless amounts of bookshelves, all of which were filled with different kinds of books. Although the library was very wide, it was taller, with at least three stories to explore. All connected with escalators, of course because I hate walking. With a place so grand, it should be no surprise that I very quickly became side-tracked. As I wondered around, I noticed the strange and unique titles of the various books. "Maria's First Toy? Words Maria knows? How to Make Tofu? What kind of books are these?" I wondered. I kept going, passing some very bizarre titles along the way, until a certain title caught my eye. "Maria's First Friends?" I read out loud. "Humm… this could be interesting." I said as I cautiously slid the book off the shelf.

The book its self was pink, with black lettering and white pages. I opened the book and began to read the first page out loud. "January 1st, 2012 – "as soon as I muttered the date I felt as if I were falling. I closed my eyes and when I opened them, I was no longer in the library, but rather a living room and not just any living room, but the Jump City Tower living room. Only this living room looked a bit different. For starters, the technology was a bit outdated and some of the furniture was moved around. Then I noticed that I wasn't alone either. Sitting on the floor in front of the wall-sized window were a group of toddlers happily playing with their various baby toys. Two of the toddlers had light green skin with pointed ears, tiny fangs, and purple hair and eyes. The only difference was the way they were dressed. The girl had slightly longer hair which allowed for a large, pink, flower-like bow. The bow matched her black shirt that read "Happy New Year" in silver letters, and a pink, fluffy skirt. The boy wore a shirt that looked that a tux and a dipper without pants. Also on the floor was a little girl, only about a year older than the twins. She had long black hair and orange skin. She wore a black dress shirt with white pokka-dots and a silver ribbon tided loosely around her neck. She also wore skinny, black pants with little black bows tided at the ends. Next to her sat another boy, just a month older than the twins, also sporting a tux-like shirt and no pants.

"No. Way." I whispered, hoping no one would hear me. Since the toddlers didn't react to my presence in the room, I assumed that meant I couldn't be seen. Once I realized who the babies were, I concluded I was somehow in the past. The one and two year olds continued to play with each other, but because of what little English they knew, it was impossible to understand what they were saying. As I observed my past self and friends, a teenaged girl holding a baby wrapped in a big yellow blanket, came into the room. After giving the toddlers a quick glance she sat down on the couch, baby in one arm and used the other arm to grab the remote and turn on the T.V. A reporter showed up on the screen with an extremely large and rowdy crowd behind her. The teenager was wearing Indian style, yellow clothing with a long flowing yellow cape. She had long, brown hair and brown eyes. Suddenly, a buzzing sound was heard, and the girls' posture quickly changed from lounging on the couch to sitting straight up. She muted the T.V. before digging a Titan Communicator out of her belt using her free hand. She was too far away for me to see who it was calling, but my animal hearing allowed me to clearing make out the new voices.

"Solstice, where are the kids? Are they ok?" I would know that voice anywhere. The girl, Solstice, gave the voice a fake smile. I didn't need to be an empath to see the slight annoyance in her eyes.

"Yes Mrs. Logan. The kids are _still_ fine. Still playing by the window, just like they were an hour ago, and the hour before that." Solstice replied.

"Don't get smart with me! Where is the rest of your team? I tried calling Wonder Girl first, but she failed to answer." Mom answered, her voice dripping with irritation.

"Wonder Girl and the others had to answer a distress call, so I volunteered to stay with the kids." Solstice replied innocently.

"Well I – "

"Rae! Don't tell me you called them again?!" Now that had to be my Dad. He's the only person I know that can get away with _that_ nick-name, or with any of Mom's many nick-names for that matter. Most of which he came up with anyway.

"I had to! Wonder Girl wouldn't pick up and I feared the worst, ok." Mom retorted, voice filled with worry and guilt.

"I know, Mama, but you've got to relax. It's New Year's Eve! We're on Vacation!"

"A night on the town is not a vacation, Gar." Mom deadpanned.

"Oh come on! You know what I mean! Hey Solstice, why don't you put the kids on the phone so we can say good night?"

"Sure, Sir." Solstice replied before walking over to the group of toddlers.

"Maria! Mark! Say good night to your Mommy and Daddy!" Solstice cooed. I watched as the baby version of Mark and I stared at the little screen on the communicator Solstice was now holding in front of us.

"Mama! Dada!" Little me yelled while pointing at the screen.

"Hey there Sweetie! How are my little pups doing?" I heard Dad ask. I started to feel nostalgic at the use of "little pups," since the last time I heard him refer to us as that was a very long time ago.

"Good." Mark muttered staring curiously at the screen that most likely showed both our parents at some party or fancy restaurant.

"See Rae! They're doing good!" Dad said.

"Well sorry for worrying about our children's safety!" Mom retorted. "Mark, Maria, Mommy and Daddy love you! We'll see you in the morning, ok?" Of course she never got an answer.

"Good night, Pups!"

"Yes, good night my dears!"

"Night, Night." Both Mark and younger me answered, waving our tiny hands to say good bye. And with that, my parents signed off, leaving the room with an uncomfortable silence. That silence was soon ended by the sound of a crying baby girl, still wrapped up in Solstice's arms.

"Oh, no! Hush, Eleanor. It's ok, shush…" Solstice instantly began to try and calm the baby. As she continued to rock the baby in her arms, she exited the room. Once she left, I felt like I was falling again, and shut my eyes. This time when I opened them I was back in the library, book in hand. I quickly slid the book back into place.

"Few! That was intense!" I said, rubbing my temples.

"Did you enjoy the trip down memory lane?"

I jumped at the sound of a mysterious voice. I spun around and found another emoticlone with brown on her uniform instead of purple or pink.

"Ugh! Why do you guys insist on sneaking up on me?" I accused her.

"I did not sneak up on you. You merely were not paying attention." The emotion stated calmly. I rolled my eyes at her comment.

"Whatever. Are you Knowledge?" I asked.

"No, I am Wisdom. Similar, and yet, very different."

"Yeah, whatever. Can you tell me what the deal is with these books?" I motioned to the many books on the shelves behind me. Wisdom gave a small nod before answering.

"These books contain your memories. Everything you have ever learned or done is recorded here. To access these memories, one simply has to open a book and read the date out loud. Just as you have already done." Wisdom motioned to the book I had just moments ago. "Interesting how you picked this particular book out of all of the others." I just shrugged my shoulders in response.

"I don't know. It just stuck out, I guess."

"Hum, well did you see anything… interesting?"

"Yeah actually! That was the first time I met my team! I mean, I don't remember it because I was only like, a year and a half old, but I've heard the story a lot from my parents. Dad wanted to take Mom out for New Year's Eve, but Mom didn't feel comfortable leaving Mark and I. Apparently, that was the first time Mom allowed some else to watch us. The team Dad and her were training at the time lived in the Jump City Tower, so they volunteered to watch us. I guess the other original Titans caught wind of this news, because they brought their kids to be babysat too, while they joined my parents to celebrate the New Year." It was the first time we were all together." I recalled. Wisdom simply nodded.

"So do you still wish to speak with Knowledge?" Wisdom asked.

"Oh, um yes please."

"Very well, right this way." And with that Wisdom began walking away from the book shelves and towards the escalator that lead to the second story. "She's at the top, third floor." Stated Wisdom as she and I stepped on to the moving stairs.

"Why are there so many floors? Do I really have _that_ many memories?" I asked.

"Actually, yes you do. First floor is birth to five, second is six to ten, and lastly the third floor is 11 through 16 years old. Soon we'll have to add a fourth floor." Wisdom answered as we stepped off the first escalator and boarded the next one. I gave her a nod, indicating I understood her answer. When we stepped off the last escalator, I saw sitting at a large table in the middle of the room, was another emoticlone. This one had on yellow and wore glasses.

"Why is she wearing glasses? I have great vision! And the smartest people I know, don't wear glasses." I whispered to Wisdom.

"It's symbolic." She whispered back. On the table Knowledge was sitting at were piles of books. Knowledge seemed to be reading one of them when we came to join her. Wisdom motioned for me to take a seat in front of Knowledge and when I did Knowledge finally decided to recognize our presence. Looking up from her book Knowledge looked me square in the eyes.

"Welcome, Maria. Are you aware of where you are?" Knowledge asked.

"Um, I think so. I'm in Nevermore, right?"

"Correct. To be more specific though, you are in Wisdom and I's realm. You already went through two of your emoticlones realms, Happy and Love. You were lucky to avoid some of your more aggressive emotions."

"Right, well can you help me or what?" I asked getting slightly inpatient.

"Help you with what?" Knowledge questioned, a smirk on her face.

"You're Knowledge! I'm pretty sure you _know_ what!"

"Very well. I supposed I can assist you in exiting Nevermore. If you wish to leave, simply imagine your exit." Knowledge stated matter-a-factly.

"Wait! What?" I asked in shock.

"You heard me, simply imagine your exit. It's your mind, Maria, you are the only one that can control it. If you wish to leave, then use your mind to imagine yourself leaving, well your mind."

"Are you freakin' kidding me?! That's all I had to do the entire time! Why couldn't Happy tell me that at the very beginning?!" I screamed.

"Happy only knows and feels what is happy. Love only knows and feels what is loving. I am Knowledge and therefore I only know information, but I can know any area."

I let out a loud growl and stood up out of my chair. Stepping to the side, I shut my eyes and imagined myself being sucked up through the mirror and landing back on Mark's bed. I landed on his bed with a jolt. I fell flat on my butt with the mirror landing in my lap. I scanned my surroundings, trying to make sense of where I was. When I realized that I was still in Marks room, with Mom silently meditating beside me, I began to relax. Mom took in a deep breathe before gently floating down to the bed and opening her eyes. She turned to me and asked, "So did you have a good trip?" I didn't know how to respond at first, so she just continued speaking. "Now that you know how to enter and leave your mind, I hope you will use this tool to help control your powers better."

Finally finding my voice I replied, "How is this supposed to help me control my powers? I've always been able to talk with my emotions."

"Yes, but this way you can better organize your thoughts and feelings."

"Great. _More_ responsibilities." I muttered. Mom put her hand on my shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. She also gave me a sympathetic smile.

"I know this is hard for you, but being a super hero is all about responsibilities. I know you can handle it, though. You might have your father's lack of control and attention-span, but you also have his strength and endurance. And most importantly, his passion."

Sharing in my Mom's smile, I gave her a small nod. "Thanks, Mom."

"Anytime, my dear. And I mean that." Her stare suddenly went from loving to stern. Almost like she was giving me an order.

"Ok, Mom. I understand." I told her, and her expression went back to its normal monotone. She gave me a nod and began to stand up and make her way to the door.

"We better go check on everyone. Who knows how much trouble was caused by leaving your father without supervision." Mom joked as I followed her out of Mark's room.

"Haha good one Mom!" I laughed, which made Mom show her signature smile.


End file.
